, 1887-03-17
THE DOCTORS HER0ISM.

were thronged with patients holding their
tickets In their hands.
At the entrance stood the money re-
ceiver, wearing u long black frock coat;
he o from each patient the indispen-
sable fee of two guineas, tested the gold
with II single tap Of the hammer upon n
little ornamental anvil and cried auto
matically, All rightr'
In his private oflice-a glass structure
like u conservatory, around which great
tropical shrubs were ranged, each grow
ing in a huge Japanese pot-sat the stiff
little DR.. Hallidonhill. Beside him, Mt Il
little round table, his secretary kept
stenographing brief prescriptions given.
AT the swinging doors, covered with red
velvet studded with gold headed nails,
stood a valet of monstrous frame, whose
duty IL was to carry the feeble consump-
tives to the lobby, whence they were low
cred by an elevator, in easy chairs, below
as soon as the official signal, "Nextt' had
been given.
The patients entered with dim and
CLASSY Dyes, stripped to the waist, and
each with his upper garments thrown over
his arm. In~stantaneously upon entering
they received the application of the pies
simeter and the tube on back and chest.
Tick tick plaffl Breathe now
Plaff-Good."
Then followed a prescription dictated in
Il second or two; then the well known
"Nextl'
And every morning for three years, be-
tween 0 O'Clock and noon, the procession
of sufferers came N passed.
On this particular day, May 90, just at
the stroke of 0 o'clock, n sort of long skel-
eton, with wildly wandering eyes, cheeks
SO hollow that they seemed to touch to-
gether under the palate, and nude torso
that looked like n cage covered with loose
parchment, uplifted occasionally by the
efforts of n racking cough-in short, n be-
ing so wasted that it seemed impossible
for him to live, came in with n blue fox
skin mantle thrown over his arm, and
tried to keep himself from falling by
catching Mt the long leaves of the shrubs,
rs he expanded the compass of his femora
In the Doctors Office.
''Tickl ticki plaffi Ali the DEVIL
Can't do anything for your grumbled DR..
Hallidonhill. 'Do you AXE me for n cor
oner, whose business it is to certify causes
of dcaths You will epit up the last cell OF
this left lung in less thar q week, the
right is already riddled like a sievel
Nextl'
Tho valet was just about to carry out
the client when the eminent ~therapeutist
od0ttbAl olADBta llllotll I'll llC lOlClltuQ
and b%rusquely asked, with a dubious
smile:
Are you richt''
"I'm q millionaire-much more than u
millionaire, sobbed the unhappy being
whom Hallidonhiu thus unceremoniously
dismissed from the face of the earth.
Very well, then; let your invalid
carriage take you at once to the Victoria
railway station. Take the II o'clock ex-
press for Doverl Then tho steamer for
Calais. Then take the train from Calais
to Marseilles-secure a sleeping car with a
stove in It'll And then get to Nice as fast
rs you n There try to live on water
cress for six Notwithstanding but water
cress-no bread, nor wine, nor fruit, nor
meats of any kind. One t~easpoonful of
rain water well iodized every two days.
And watercress, watercress, watercress.-
pounded and prayed in its own juice-that
is your only chance, and still, let me tell
you this: This method of cure l know of
only by hearsay; its pretended efficacy is
being dinned into my ears all the time
l don't believe in it the least bit, l pro-
pose it only because yours seems to be n
hopeless case,-yet l think that as a
remedy it is worse han absurd. Still,
nothing is impossible. Nextl''
The phthisical Crpsus was carefully de-
posted in the cushioned car of the ele-
vator, and the regular procession Of con-
sumptive, scorbutic and otherwise af-
tlicted patients commenced its pilgrimage
through the Office.
Six months later, Nov. 3-just at the
stroke of 0 o'clock--a sort Of giant, with
a terrifically sonorous and jovial voice,
whose tones shook every ane of glass in
the doctors office and set the leaves of
NIL fhn frnniRnl nlnnfG n-tranahln a errnat
chubby checked colossus, clothed in rich
furs, burst like n human bombshel
through the sorrowful ranks Of DIR. Hal
liddhhill's clients, and rushed, without n
ticket, into the sanctum of the prince of
science, who had just come, cool and calm
rs usual, in his black cloth suit, to sit
down before his office table. Selling the
doctor about the body the giant uplifted
him like a feather and kissed and kissed
again in silence and bathed in tears of Joy
the wan and worn cheeks of the prac-
%titioner, as a paradoxical Normandy nurse
would kiss the face of n child, after which
he set him down again n semi-comatose
and almost suffocated state in his green
armchair.
1.-TWO millions of francs-do you want
themf' shouted the giant, n terrible living
advertisement "Or do you wish for
three l owe to you breath, sun, splendid
repasts, life-cverything Make your
claim upon me for extraordinary rewards;
/ suffer with the thirst OF thankfulness. "
my goodness who is this madmani
Put him out OF hereii feebly articulated
the doctor, after n moments Iprostration.
mo, no-you don'ti' growled the giant.
with n %pugilistic glance at thS valet that
made him recoil as from 1 How. 1.-THE
fact is, " he continued, 81 understand now
that even you-you, my sayior-cannot
recognize me. am the Watercress Mar
the hopeless skeleton, the helpless pa
tient. Nice l-watercress, watercress,
watercress. Well, I've done my six
months OF watercress diet. Look mt your
work now See here-listen to that.'
And he began to drum upon his chest
with w huge fists, solid enough to shat
ter the skua Of n Middlesex prize bull.
"Whatl' cried the doctor, leaping TO his
feet. you arc-my gracious. are you the
dying man whom r.
Yes, yeS-a thousand times yesr'
yelled the giant. Il am the very man.
TIT momen | landed yesterday evening ]
ordered a bronze statue OF you, and l will